CHICO -- From well-drilling rigs to street-cleaning rigs, the men who call themselves "Thursdays Crew" have crafted some handy carts to help clean up downtown.

The "Crew" are professional men, some retired, who like to tinker and talk while working on a cause. Over the past several years, they have built drill rigs for creating water wells in Africa. One project included FFA students.

Recently they built four yellow push carts, which will hit the streets Monday.

A plaque on the rig reads "Chico Proud Street Sweeper."

The carts will be in the hands of four homeless people who have been hired by the Downtown Chico Business Association to clean two hours, six days a week.

The employment began as part of the R-Town project in November and December, with a break over January.

The carts were crafted to hold an industrial-strength broom and recycling bins, with extra space for whatever else is needed.

The colors are bright and high-profile, which is the intent.

Bill Such, director of the Jesus Center, said when the four workers were hired, five additional people said they would love to take part.

Having people who are homeless employed part-time is a building block between citizens, business owners and people who are homeless, he said.

Such said he would love to see the program expand. The goal would be for merchants in other areas of town to hire more workers for part-time cleanup.

The Thursdays Crew sounded eager to build more carts.

During a show-and-tell Friday, the builders invited a few Chico businessmen to talk about homelessness in Chico.

While some homeless people downtown cause a lot of problems, there are others who need jobs, the group discussed.

Employing a handful of homeless people for a very visible job is a small step to encouraging people who are homeless to care more about the downtown, and be less likely to trash it, the cart-builders said.

Ron Reed, one of the welders on the project, said he hoped the cleaning and new carts will help change attitudes among both business owners and people who are homeless.

"The carts are a tangible way to get people to think about that," Reed said.

The investment wasn't much, about $200 each, plus the volunteer labor of the men who did the work.

Reed said the group is also working on a video that incorporates stories from the perspective of people who are homeless as well as members of the community.

Such, of the Jesus Center, explained that these efforts are in addition to a downtown ambassador program and church groups that talk with people downtown. Part of his philosophy is to build relationships among community members.

The others from the Thursdays Crew include Will Bono, Dan Gordon and Bruce Gallaway.